Wakka Wakka language
extinct language of Queensland, Australia
The Wakka Wakka language, also spelt Waga, or Wakawaka, is an extinct Pama–Nyungan language formerly spoken by the Wakka Wakka people, an Aboriginal Australian nation near Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Kaiabara/Gayabara, Nguwera/Ngoera, and Buyibara may be varieties or alternative names.
Initiation language
A distinct style of the language was used in male initiation ceremonies. Two phrases or words were given by an unitiated informant with unknown meaning., being biri buːn barung and marugung.
Phonology
Consonants
/l/ may occasionally be velarized as [ɫ].
/l/ may also exist in the sequence /-lj-/, however; it is not realized as a palatal lateral sound [ʎ].
Vowels
References
Kite, Suzanne; Wurm, Stephen (2004). The Duungidjawu Language of the Southeast Queensland: Grammar, Texts and Vocabulary. Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-85883-550-4.
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